system freezes playing games plz help

[immortalepyon]

I recently Built my own system got everything running fairly decently
My basic specs are:
Motherboard: MSI 790FX-GD70
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 810 2.6GHz (quad core)
Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Graphics: NVidia GeForce 8600GT 512MB
Power: Rosewill RP550V2-D-SL 550W

I have 2 main problems
First of which is the worst, anytime I try to run any kind of game, it works for
about a minute then the whole computer freezes and I have to shut it down to
restart

Second is I have two 2GB rams installed but My system only claims that I have 3.25GB of
Ram Installed, when I look in the BIOS it says 4GB whats the deal with the memory loss?

Im not an expert builder I just know some basics, but this is killing me I built this thing to
play games and it wont play games!!! Help

Oh and OS:Windows XP Home Edition service pack 3

 

[dude112]

Welcome to Tech Forums. For future reference please don't double post. Use the edit button.
Did you install the right/recent videocard driver GeForce Release 182
Check the gpu temperature with GPU-Z techPowerUp! :: Download TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.3.3
Might be overheating?

As for the 4GB ram. You're probably running windows xp 32bit which only recognizes 4GB in total including 512mb memory of your videocard. And it also a bit of ram is reserved for windows to run.
Which is why it'll only recognize 3.3 .

For it to see the full 4GB ram you'll need a 64-bit OS.

 

[Trotter]

Right off the bat I see a couple of possible issues.

The first one dude112 has already mentioned, which is updating your drivers.

The second is your card. A 8600 paired with a Phenom II X4??? The 8600 is/was a pile of crap. Not to mention that many of the chips in them have begun to fail because Nvidia screwed up. So the card itself could be the cause of the problem. If you can lay hands on another card to test that theory you could rule it out or verify it.

Another potential problem could be your PSU. 550W is plenty, and the 8600 is not a HUGE power hog, but Rosewill is a bit iffy. If the PSU is not up to snuff, it will let you down when the demand for juice goes up. Again, if you cold swap it out to test it would be best as it would show conclusively.

Dude112 is right... a 32-bit OS can only see 3.5GB of RAM.

 

[KSoD]

http://www.techist.com/forums/f9/difference-between-32-bit-x86-64-bit-x64-171390/#post1349279
http://www.techist.com/forums/f78/32-bit-os-ram-limitation-181680/

Those will give you the information to explain fully why 32 Bit OS's can only address 3.25-3.5GB of RAM.

 

[philbar71]

The second is your card. A 8500 paired with a Phenom II X4??? The 8600 is/was a pile of crap. Not to mention that many of the chips in them have begun to fail because Nvidia screwed up. So the card itself could be the cause of the problem. If you can lay hands on another card to test that theory you could rule it out or verify it.

the 8600GT (desktop) never had any problems (to my knowelage) , it was the laptop version of the 8600GT, which is the 8600m, that had the failing issues.

 

[Trotter]

It was both, and more than just the 8600 model.

 

[immortalepyon]

Welcome to Tech Forums. For future reference please don't double post. Use the edit button.
Did you install the right/recent videocard driver GeForce Release 182
Check the gpu temperature with GPU-Z techPowerUp! :: Download TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.3.3
Might be overheating?

As for the 4GB ram. You're probably running windows xp 32bit which only recognizes 4GB in total including 512mb memory of your videocard. And it also a bit of ram is reserved for windows to run.
Which is why it'll only recognize 3.3 .

For it to see the full 4GB ram you'll need a 64-bit OS.

Thanks for the help guys, The thing about the Ram I understand now
but the Graphics, Im going to go ahead and pull an extra 200-300 for another card
the 8600 was just a leftover from a previous build, Any Recommendations as to what
card I should get I Want An ATI for sure with at least 512MB, my games Recommended graphics calls for

"256 MB Shader Model 3.0 Graphics cards such as GeForce 8 class card or higher, ATi 3000 series or higher and Similar chips from other manufacturers "

EDIT: I tested the 8600 with this video card stability program and the comp froze on each of the 3 trys
thats more than enough proof for me lol

 

[veg1992]

You'd want either:

an HD 4870 1GB or the GTX 260 Core 216 (the HD 4870 is slightly faster)

Heck you might be able to fit a GTX 285 or HD 4850X2 in there...